The invention relates to a method for reporting emergency calls and initiating emergency assistance measures by means of protected, encoded data transmission between one or more alarm centrals with reception authority and at least one alarm location via a communication network, whereby the alarm location installed in a closed dwelling unit includes an emergency call alarm unit and an emergency assistance communication unit and, on the basis of an emergency call report, automatically produces a connection to the alarm central and, by means of previous, mutual identification, guarantees that the emergency call and further information are only transmitted to the alarm central authorized for reception.
Elderly and/or physically handicapped persons who live alone in a closed dwelling unit are often afraid that no one will notice when they need assistance and they are no longer in a position to use their telephone. To this end, emergency assistance communication systems have been created. By merely pressing a button, a connection to a corresponding central station can be automatically produced and assistance can be requested.
Such emergency assistance communication systems are generally known. Frequently, these employ the public telephone network for the data communication. Thereby, it should be guaranteed for reasons of privacy and safety that a call for assistance only arrives at an authorized central station and a connection only arises between the authorized central and the corresponding subscriber station.
A communication system is described in the Dutch published patent application No. 77 09 333 in which a connection to a central station can be produced in emergency situations. Thereby, on the basis of an emergency call alarm, a connection from an alarm location to an allocated central station is produced and an intercommunication connection is switched via a loudpspeaker of the alarm location.
An emergency assistance communication system is likewise known from the U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,368 which produces a connection to a central station from which assistance can be sent via the public telephone network. The French published patent application No. 23 19 258 describes a remote monitoring system with the assistance of a public telephone network for sick or handicapped persons.
Assistance can be summoned with these and other known systems and a person suited to offer assistance can be sent to the dwelling of the person in need. If, however, for any reasons whatsoever, this person is not in a position to open the door himself, then the helper cannot get into the locked dwelling without further ado.